Dear Editor:
I’m appalled at the utter shamelessness of the Newport developers who want a revised tax abatement so they can turn two floors of an office building that were supposed to be used for parking into office space. If they want to make that change, that’s fine – just don’t expect the taxpayer to help pay for it. Developer James LeFrak describes it as a “technical” matter – yet the city could lose a million dollars. That’s a million dollars that it will cost the taxpayer. Moreover, the developers all have the audacity to want to deduct the $9 million it will cost to build the two parking floors from the overall cost of their original plan. The City Council should reject this proposal out of hand. In addition, it should take a much tougher look at any new proposals for abatements. They might be appropriate in some cases in rundown areas of the city, but certainly not in Newport.
Bill Armbruster